![Teen Boy Dies After "Pens-Down" Party](https://surgezirc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/images-57.png)
A tragic incident occurred in East London on Sunday morning, where yet another “pens-down party” resulted in the death of a teenage boy in the F-Section of Mzamomhle.
The victim, Thanduxolo Mcotheli, was a 17-year-old student in the 11th grade at Mzamowethu High School.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: King Misuzulu KaZwelithini Hospitalised After Suspected Poisoning
His neighbors and parents discovered his charred remains in his dwelling.
Nokuthula Mcotheli, the boy’s mother, expressed her distress, blaming the pens-down parties for the loss of young lives.
She revealed that her son was not a drinker, but he had joined a group of friends for a pens-down party at a nearby tavern late in the evening the day before.
At around 7 a.m., neighbors woke her up, informing her that they had heard her son’s pleas for help from inside the burning shack.
Although she was unsure of what caused the fire, she attributed it to underage drinking.
She claimed that the tavern was full of underage children, including her son, who succumbed to peer pressure and decided to partake in drinking.
While she was uncertain about the fire’s origin, she mentioned that her son had been using a paraffin lamp in his dwelling.
She expressed deep sadness at losing her child due to the influence of pens-down parties.
Crossly Cakata, a former ward councillor in Gonubie, voiced his disappointment regarding the circumstances of the boy’s death.
He regarded these parties as a nationwide crisis and criticized the fact that children haven’t learned from the tragedy at Enyobeni tavern the previous year.
He found it disgraceful that a student could lose their life while under the influence of alcohol. Cakata described the situation as profoundly saddening.
According to Capt Hazel Mqala, a police spokesperson, the community reported a shack fire at the Mzamomhle informal settlement in Gonubie around 7 a.m. on Sunday.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Police Nabs Suspects Involved In Eskom Electricity Fraud
Witnesses heard someone inside the shack screaming for help. Despite their efforts to extinguish the fire, the 17-year-old tragically perished.
There is no suspicion of foul play, and the cause of the fire remains unknown at this time.